Thousands of photos
Since returning to Canada I’ve been sorting through thousands of photos taken over the three months we were in Italy. I wanted to share some but it’s so difficult to pick just a few since I have many favourites. I’ve done my best to pick just ten.
This first one, of a cart with the town of Montepulciano in the background is one of two I took from the same vantage point. It was afternoon and there was a storm coming but the sun was fighting to come out. The result was a natural light that made colours look faded and reminded me of an old painting.
An old cart, Montepulciano in the background
The piazza next to the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, is very photogenic. Here the fog was lifting and exposing the valley below.
Assisi
We spotted one of the prettiest market stalls in Citta della Pieve. The bundles of hot red peppers on the roof and bunches of red onions and garlic hung from the doors and rain gutter were perfect and colourful. It was too inviting to pass, we ended up buying some hot peppers and a bag of beautiful potatoes.
Fruit and Vegetable stand at the market, Citta della Pieve
An old cart on a property in Ficulle, no longer functional but it still had something interesting going on. The blue paint and green leaves seemed to pop at dusk with the shed light turned on.
Broken down cart at dusk, Ficulle
I’ve always been a fan of yarn bombing so I was happy to see this family of yarn owls sitting on a branch in Todi.
Yarn bombing, Todi
During chestnut season, chestnut vendors sell their roasted delicacies in most Italian cities. This one caught my eye as I was trying to escape the throng of people around Trevi Fountain.
Roasting chestnuts, Rome
We fell in love with Civita di Bagnoregio the first time we saw it. The best view is from the belvedere where you can position yourself in a way for the trees to partially obstruct the walkway and parking below.
The dying city of Civita di Bagnoregio
One of our favourite outings, Parco dei Mostri is filled with interesting statues and monuments. This one, called Proteus, was screaming to have its photo taken.
Proteus – Glauco, the sea monster at Parco dei Mostri, Bomarzo
Winter in Italy means artichokes, lots and lots of artichokes. This vendor at the Orvieto market would sell out every Saturday. Not all vendors let you touch the produce so make sure you ask first.
Artichoke seller, Orvieto
Is there anything more beautiful than the Italian countryside? Driveways lined with cypress trees, rows and rows of olive trees, a house nestled here and there. Can you spot the pool?
The view of the valley behind Orvieto
If you’re on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you may have seen some of these photos but there are more to come in the near future.
Love this! … I’d like to see the other thousands …
I’m still going through them. Will have you over for dinner 😉
Incredible photo essay. I especially love that shot of Civita di Bagnoregio – stunning!
Thanks Michele, I shot photos both times we went and they look so different just from the time of day and light, amazing!
I also take a lot of photos and love looking back but can never get over how time consuming the process!
Love these photos – especially the chestnut fender and the fruit & vegetable van.
Thanks Leigh, it’s amazing how long it takes to go through them all.
Hi Nat and Tim,
Gorgeous, just gorgeous! My favorite for “local” is the chestnut vendor. My favorite for sheer beauty is Civita di Bagnoregio. You’ve caught the light just right and popped the colors well.
Josie
Thanks so much Josie.
Some truly beautiful photos. I find it strange when you’re not allowed to pick you own vegetables at a market stall. We keep running into this problem here in Chile, but for us it means we just wander off and don’t buy anything from these vendors. We’re travelling in a motorhome, space is limited, soft produce like tomatoes or peaches don’t survive the rough roads very well, so with my limited language skills I don’t get my reasons across that I only want 3 peaches, not a kilogram…
I’m not sure why they don’t let people touch the produce other than bruising. Google translate, as bad as it is, can be useful to get your point across.
This set of photos is so pensive and filled with twilight or dusk, almost anticipating your leaving. It’s funny how our own moods can travel through the lens. Lovely post.
Thank you Betsy. You’re right, our moods do travel through the lens, whether we like it or not.
I have no idea how you pared it down to ten! Who made up that rule? I want to see more! You take photos of the same type of things that I do. Isn’t is a miracle how just the light changing can alter the photo so drastically? I take a lot of photos as well and I just posted 23 in my last post! Each one seemed necessary to tell the story!
Light is an amazing thing!
Lovely images of wonderful Italy. I enjoyed them very much.
Thank you Carole
Wow! Great photos I don’t know how are were able to choose only these 10. Perhaps a Part II?
Thanks Sue. Perhaps a part II is in order 🙂
What a wonderful diverse collection of photos from your 3 months in Italy – I have yet to visit but i love to see other people photos to get some ideas about places I want to visit when I do go there.
I remember visiting Belgium years ago and while at a produce vendor stall I had my hand slapped for touching the goods – it was my first visit so I didn’t know the rules/customs. Now when I visit produce vendors I always ask before i touch, or observe the other customers to see how it goes.
Thanks for sharing some of your photos from Italy – I am sure it was quite a task to pick just ten – looking forward to seeing more!
We were in Italy last fall and your photos take me back to that beautiful country. Gorgeous walk back through Italy with you.
Thanks Sue, glad we could transport you back to Italy.
Ahhh gorgeous photos! They make me miss Italy, as it’s a few years since our last visit. You are right–there is nothing more beautiful than the Italian countryside. I also love your city/village life photos of the chestnut and artichoke venders.
Were you here for three months? We’ve been to Sorrento, Pompeii, Civita, Viterbo, Coprarola, Montefiasciano, and Florence in six days! I have just said perhaps spending a month would be better! I envy you!
Hi Carol, we were based near Orvieto from November to February. You saw a lot in 6 days!
Lovely photos…like others, I don’t see how you narrowed it to ten! Off-season travel definitely has its benefits for imagery, and you captured the light and atmosphere beautifully. I look forward to seeing more from your stay in Italy!
Great pictorial essay. My favorite is Civita di Bagnoregio!
Beautiful photos – they make me want to visit Italy again.
Love these photos and the stories behind them. My favorite is of the gentleman roasting chestnuts. Beautiful!
Thanks Anita!
Aaaargh! I’m trying to view this post on unstable wifi in a hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel and the photos won’t load—-which, judging by the comments of others, is too bad. I always fine that sorting, labeling, uploading, picking, resizing, photos is very time consuming, but pictures really are worth lots of words and blog posts aren’t supposed to have too many words, so sharing photos is crucial for a travel blog. Do you use Pinterest? There you can share “boards” of photos and you can link to the board in a blog post. There are copyright issues, however